We will remember them............

With the forthcoming Centenary of the Armistice of the Great War (1918-2018) we will once again be able to remember those members of the club that fell in both World Wars with their own Memorial.

In 1922, the original football Club Memorial Stone was unveiled at our home ground, Lower Mead in Wealdstone. This commemorated those players and officials that fell in the Great War, and the granite stone stood by the Clubhouse for a number of years. It was added to after World War Two and was eventually moved as the ground developed, finally resting in a small grassed area adjacent to the Secretary's Office, but when the ground was vacated and demolished in 1991-2, the damaged stone was lost forever.

Now, ensconced in a more permanent location after a number of years of grounds sharing and with a new lease in place, a new memorial will be presented to the club before the match with Bath City, next Saturday 10th November. 

This new memorial has been kept as a well-guarded secret in over 18 months of design and manufacture, but with the presentation approaching we can reveal that it will take the form of a Stained and Fused Glass Panel measuring 900mm x 600mm featuring soldiers in a field of poppies.

Made by artist Amy McCarthy  info@amyorangejuice.co.uk to a design developed by a small band of fans, this panel has also been mounted in a back-lit frame which, made from recovered oak and corrugated iron is a representation of a Great War Trench enclosure.

It will be presented on the pitch to Chairman Peter Marsden and Club president Paul Rumens by two Wealdstone fans who are both serving members of the armed forces, Andy Gibbs representing the Royal Navy and Sam Morris representing The Army prior to a number of ceremonies to mark the occasion. These will include a wreath laying, a minute’s silence and also a sounding of the Last Post by bugler Jordan Low.

Another well-kept secret is that the Wealdstone team, with permission from the League, GPF Lewis the Club Sponsors, and opponents Bath City will play in a replica of the 1919 Wealdstone kit – the first worn after the Great War, unadorned by league and sponsors logo’s.

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The match poster showing the Remembrance kit by Steve Foster (@aqueoussunphoto) was launched last week and has already drawn lots of positive comment's and interest far and wide from across the football community.

Make sure you get down to The Vale next Saturday and be part of the day as we remember those former 'Stones' who lost their lives in the two World Wars.